Gulf Stream students speak through their artwork in Delray exhibit
By Rich Pollack
The first thing that might have caught a visitor’s eye in the Blackbox Gallery at Arts Garage in April was the diversity of the work — and the creativity evident in the styles and media.
A closer look, however, revealed solid fundamentals — color placement, color blending, proportion and perspective, use of shapes — that gave each piece unique appeal.
Yet these are not the works of well-known artists or even seasoned hobbyists.
Instead, they are a sampling of outstanding art created in classes at Gulf Stream School by students from preschoolers to early teens.
“I was blown away by the talent of the artists at such a young age,” said Marjorie Waldo, president and CEO of Arts Garage in Delray Beach. “All of these children are incredibly talented.”
Stella Dal Santo, 9, proudly points to her painting of fall leaves on display at Arts Garage. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
The “Raising Voices” exhibition, which closed April 27, marked the rebirth of a student art show that had been a regular event prior to the pandemic. It was also the first time the show had left the school’s campus for the well-known Delray Beach venue.
During the school year, students in Natalie Gamboa’s pre-K through third-grade classes and Kristen Cairns’ upper-school classes created hundreds of pieces in a variety of media. The show, however, consists of just 75 of their two-dimensional works.
The majority of the art comes from four projects, including an “owl eyes” project and a “flowers” project from the younger students and an “animal eyes” and Legos printing project from Cairns’ classes.
As part of the oil pastels flowers project, Gamboa took her second-grade students to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach to see the works of Georgia O’Keeffe, known for her close-up paintings of flowers.
Parents, students and faculty from Gulf Stream School gathered April 10 at Arts Garage in Delray Beach to celebrate an exhibit of the students’ art.
Those works provided an inspiration for students such as Stella Dal Santo, 9, of Boynton Beach, who came to an April 10 reception for the show and saw her painting of autumn leaves on the wall.
“It feels very cool,” she said about having her art in a gallery exhibit for the first time. “I love being an artist.”
One of the goals of the show, Gamboa says, is to give students like Stella, who is in Grade 3, a chance to be proud of their work and have it admired by others. “They’re seeing that their work is being recognized,” she said.
Art teachers Natalie Gamboa and Kristen Cairns stand directly under the reptile eye completed by 13-year-old Jacob Boris.
Among some of the works of eighth-graders was an oil pastel painting of a reptile eye meticulously crafted by Jacob Boris, 13, who is in his last year at Gulf Stream School.
The young artist used a broad color palette that included blue, white, orange and purple to create the eye in exquisite detail.
“This is the year I really stepped up my art,” he said. “It is going to be something I’m going to pursue in high school.”
Jacob, of Delray Beach, said the two teachers provided students with individual attention, encouraging creativity.
While students have a variety of skill levels, some stand out.
“We have some very gifted students who think outside of the box,” Cairns said.
Waldo gives credit to the teachers and Gulf Stream School for the focus placed on the arts.
“It’s obvious that the teachers and the school understand the deep importance of the arts in a child’s education,” she said, adding that arts education has been shown to develop critical thinking and other important skills while boosting academic achievement.
Waldo said the venue was pleased to host the Raising Voices exhibit because it falls in line with the vision of emerging artists that Arts Garage intends for the gallery.
“It’s a cool exhibit to have for our 15th anniversary,” she said.
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